NEWELL S. Nota, Confer, Cogita, Inscribe. BIOLOGY LIBRARY y THE PHILOSOPHY OP NATURAL HISTORY WILLIAM SMELLIE, MEMBER OF THE ANTIQUARIAN AND ROYAL SOCIETIES OF EDINBURGH WITH AN INTRODUCTION VARIOUS ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS INTENDED TO ADAPT IT TO THE PRESENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE. BY JOHN WARE, M. D. STEREOTYPE EDITION. BOSTON: WILLIAM J. REYNOLDS AND COMPANY, 20 GORNHILL. 1851. BIOLOGY LIBRARY 0 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835, BY HILLIARD, GRAY, AND COMPANY, Jn tlw Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. LIBRARY I EXTRACT FROM THE PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL WORK ABOUT fifteen years ago, in a conversation with the late woi thy, respectable, and ingenious Lord Kames, upon the too gen- eral neglect of natural knowledge, his Lordship suggested the idea of composing a book on the PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL HIS- TORY. In a work of this kind, he proposed that the productions of Nature, which to us are almost infinite, should, instead of being treated of individually, be arranged under general heads ; that, in each of these divisions, the known facts, as well as reasonings, should be collected and methodized in the form of regular dis- courses; that as few technical terms as possible should be em- ployed; and that all the useful and amusing views arising from the different subjects should be exhibited in such a manner as to convey both pleasure and information. This task his Lordship was pleased to think me not altogether unqualified to attempt. The idea struck me. I thought that a work of this kind, if executed even with moderate abilities, might excite a taste for examining the various objects which every where solicit our attention. A habit of observation refines our feelings. It is a source of interesting amusement, prevents idle or vicious propensities, and exalts the mind to a love of vir- tue and of rational entertainment I likewise reflected, that men of learning often betray an ignorance on the most common sub- jects of Natural History, which it is painful to remark 950969 IV 1 have been occasionally employed, since the period which 1 have mentioned, in collecting and digesting materials from the most authentic sources. These materials I have interspersed with such observations, reflections, and reasonings, as occurred to me from considering the multifarious subjects of which I have ventured to treat. I knew that a deliberate perusal of the numer- ous writers from Aristotle downwards, would require a consid- erable portion of time. But the avocations of business, and the translating of a work so voluminous as the Natural History of the COUNT DE BUFFON, rendered my progress much slower than I wished. I now, however, with much diffidence, submit my labors to public opinion. With regard to the manner of writing, it is perhaps impossible for a North Briton, in a work of any extent, to avoid what are called Scotticisms. But I have endeavored to be every where perspicuous, and to shun every sentiment and expression which might have a tendency to injure the feelings of individuals. Indulgent readers, though they must perceive errors and imper- fections, will naturally make some allowance for the variety of research, and the labor of condensing so much matter into so small a compass. He is a bad author, it has been said, who affords neither an aphorism nor a motto. Upon the whole, the general design of this publication is, to convey to the minds of youth, and of such as may have paid little attention to the study of Nature, a species of knowledge which it is not difficult to acquire. The knowledge will be a perpetual and inexhaustible source of many pleasures ; it will afford innocent and virtuous amusement, and will occupy agreeably the leisure or vacant hours of life. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FIRST EDITION IN preparing this edition of Smellie's Philosophy of Natural History, I have endeavored to avail myself of such modern dis- coveries and improvements in Physiology and Natural History as ore connected with the subjects of which the book treats. It will be observed that instead of the two first chapters of the ori- ginal work, I have substituted an Introduction, containing some very general views of animal and vegetable life, and a brief sketch of the structure and classification of the whole animal kingdom. That something of this kind was rendered necessary on account of the light thrown upon these subjects by the progress recently made in Comparative Anatomy, cannot be doubted; and it was found easier to compose these chapters entirely anew, than to incorporate the requisite additions with them as they originally stood. With regard to the remainder of the work, although a good deal has been added or rewritten, yet it has upon the whole been made. considerably shorter, by the omission of many passages, which did not seem of sufficient importance to be retained ; and also by the omission of many passages and a few chapters which touch upon subjects interesting only to the scientific reader, and which were deemed unnecessary in an edition intended for general use. Some apology may perhaps be required for the freedom with which these alterations have been made in a standard work of so great merit On this subject it can only be said, that there VI was no other method by which it could be adapted to the use of young persons learning the elements of Natural History. Some of the views contained in the original edition have been since proved unfounded, and these it was necessary to correct. In some parts of it are details of great length, and often irrelevant to the sub- ject, which it was thought proper to abridge or exclude; and 1 trust that, upon a fair comparison of it with this edition, I shall appear to have taken no greater liberties than were necessary to fit it for the purpose for which it is principally intended — the instruction of the young. The whole Introduction, as was observed above, has been pre- pared by the editor, with the exception of a few passages, distin- guished by inverted commas, which are retained from the original work. In the body of the book, those passages which have been added, or which have been entirely remodelled or rewritten, are distinguished by single inverted commas; quotations from other authors being marked in the usual way by double inverted commas. J. W Boston, January, 1824. In th« Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Editions, no alterations, except of a merely verbal nature, have been made. J. W Boston, March, 1834. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. Of the Nature of Living Bodies and the Distinction between Animals and Vegetables 1-12 CHAPTER II. General Remarks on the Structure of Vegetables 13-15 CHAPTER III. Of the Structure of Animals. . 15-84 PHILOSOPHY OP NATURAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. Of Respiration. 85-99 CHAPTER II. Of the Motions of Animals. 100-108 CHAPTER III. Of Instinct. .. 109-116 CHAPTER IV. Of the Senses 117-134 CHAPTER V. Of Infancy 134-141 CHAPTER VI. Of the Growth and Food of Animals 141-154 CHAPTER VII. Of the Transformations of Animals 154-168 CHAPTER VIII. Of the Habitations of Animals 168-209 CHAPTER IX. Of the Hostilities of Animals 209-227 CHAPTER X. Of the Artifices of Animals . . > 227-237 CHAPTER XI. Of the Society of Animals 238-250 CHAPTER XII. Of the Docility of Animals. 250-269 Vlll CHAPTER XIII. Of the Covering, Migration, and Torpidity of Animals 269-293 CHAPTER XIV. Of the Longevity and Dissolution of Or- ganized Bodies 293-306 CHAPTER XV. Of the Progressive Scale or Chain of Be- ings in the Universe 307-311 ANALYTICAL TABLE or CONTENTS 313-321 EXPLANATIONS OP SCIENTIFIC TERMS 323-327 THE PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL HISTORY. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. OF THE NATURE OF LIVING BODIES, AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES. THE most superficial observers are in the habit of remark- ing certain great and striking differences in the nature, struc- ture, and qualities of the objects around them. They per- ceive at once, that a stone is something very different from a plant, and a plant something very different from an animal, although they do not task themselves to determine exactly in what the difference consists. It is natural, as well as con- venient, for mankind to class things together according to their most obvious characteristics ; and in this way we have come into the use of a certain arrangement of natural bodies, not founded upon a knowledge of their intimate nature and essen- tial properties, but upon those qualities which produce the most lively impressions on our senses after only a slight exami- nation. Thus have been established the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, which include under them all the ob- jects of the material world. It is obvious that this arrangement is founded upon an ex animation of ! those objects only, which are most within oui immediate observation, and with whose qualities and propei ties we have been most familiar./ We see that rocks and mountains are immovably fixed to the same spot, and remain always of the same size ; that the earth does not change its surface except by the operation of violent and unusual causes 1 2 NATURE OF LIVING BODIES. Plants, on-the contrary, are undergoing constant and sponta- neous chances; some are dying and decaying, whilst others are \spffluting up frbrii 'the earth, coming forth, as it were, from a new creation, giving birth to a new set of individuals like themselves, and sinking in their turn to decay. Further still, we see animals, not only coming into existence, living, growing, and giving origin to other animals, but exercising various other offices; feeling, moving, uttering sounds, suf- fering and enjoying, establishing a thousand connections with things and beings about them, which contribute to the sup- port or happiness of their existence. In this way we have come to the division of created things into the three classes above mentioned." It is sufficient and convenient for the pop- ular purposes to which it has been usually applied, but it is evident, if we but examine it,\that it is not strictly and scien- tifically correct. A more accurate and philosophical division of natural ob- jects is into Such as are possessed of life, and such as are not possessed of life. This throws animals and vegetables into one class, and all mineral substances into the other ; for there is a much more close and intimate relation between the two former, than there is between either of them and the latter. They have many circumstances of analogy with one another, in respect to their structure and functions, in which they do not at all resemble any objector operation of the mineral king- dom. These two classes, then, include all the various bodies winch compose the world around us, and those belonging to each are distinguished as possessing certain general proper- ties, and being governed by certain general laws, common, in a greater or less degree, to all of the same class. ^ In the first place, living bodies are distinguished from other substances in the mode of their origin ; they are always pro- duced by other preceding individuals similar to themselves ; they are always the offspring of parents. This is an obvious and complete distinction. No mineral substance, no sub- stance not possessed of life, is ever brought into existence in this way. It is true, that new bodies in the mineral world are sometimes formed by the accidental aggregation of par- ticles, or by the spontaneous combinations which are occa- sionally the result of chemical laws ; but this is clearly some- thing very different from the mode of production which takes place in living bodies. One stone does not produce another like itself; a crjstal does not produce a crystal, nor one grain of sand another. There is nothing like the relation of parent and offspring. NATURt OF LIVING BODIES. J \ In the second place, living bodies differ as to the mode of their existence, insomuch as they are dependent upon other things beside themselves for the continuance oi' that existence. The matter of which they are composed is constantly chang- ing. This matter is, in fact, only common matter endowed for a certain period with the powers of life, in consequence of being united to living systems. By the various internal ope- rations constantly going on, part of this matter is expended, is sent out of the system ; this loss must be repaired by the addition of new matter. Hence the necessity of nourishment to the support of life ; hence the necessity of a regular sup- ply, to every thing living, of a certain quantity of food adapted in kind to the nature of the individual. This food is ope- rated upon by the organs of the animal or vegetable, is assimi- lated to it, and its properties are modified until it becomes fit to make a component part of it. ''This is nutrition, an es- sential process of living bodies, by which they are enabled to increase in size and strength, to modify the structure of their different parts, and to maintain them in a fit state for perform- ing the offices for which they are designed. Minerals, on the contrary, have no such dependence ; the matter of which they consist is always the same ; they contain within themselves every thing which is essential to their existence, and have, of course, no necessity for nutrition or growth. It is true that these substances sometimes increase in size, as happens with regard to stalactites, the deposition of crystals, and the formation of alluvia. But there is this marked difference be- tween all such instances of growth, and that of animals or vegetables ; that, in the former case, it amounts to the mere juxtaposition of similar particles, unchanged in their nature ; whilst in the latter the particles are changed in their nature, and subjected to the operation of entirely new laws. In the former case, the growth depends upon a principle operating from without ; in the latter, upon a principle operating from within 'But, in the third place, though dependent upon other sub- stances in this way for the means of continuing their exist- ence, living bodies possess, in another point of view, a kind of independence upon all other matter. They are removed, by the possession of the powers of life, in a certain degree, out of tho influence of physical and chemical laws ; they contain within themselves a principle by which they are enabled di- rectly to resist the operation of those laws, which would other- wise insure their speedy destruction. They depend upon 4 NATURE OF LIVING BODIES. the things around them for the materials for their support ; out the power of altering the nature of those materials, and appropriating them to their own use, is peculiar to themselves. Vhe functions of living systems are not only performed with out the assistance of the physical powers of matter, but often in direct opposition to them ; and the substances which are introduced into them, lose their chemical relations, and are combined according to new laws, and for new purposes. This power of insulation, possessed by living systems, is in no instance more strikingly evinced, than in the possession by animals of a certain degree of vital heat, which they pre- serve under all circumstances, short of those which impair or destroy the texture of their parts. This degree of heat — which in man is about 98° of Fahrenheit's thermometer — continues nearly the same, even when we are exposed to the most intense cold, and is but little elevated, when we are sub- jected to a heat above that of boiling water. In many coun- tries, in which the degree of cold is for many months in the year very much below the freezing point of mercury, men not only exist, but enjoy all the comforts of life. In some high latitudes, Europeans have been exposed to temperatures as low as - 50° or even - 60° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, that is, to a cold 180° below the natural standard of animal heat, and have escaped every ill consequence. Very lately the whole of two ships' crews wintered in about 75° ot north lat- itude in perfect safety, where the temperature of the air was, for many weeks together, almost constantly below 30°, and where they became so accustomed to severe cold, that the atmospmere, when at zero, felt mild and comfortable. On the other hand, in many countries men exist without difficulty under a high degree of heat. In Sicily, during certain winds, the thermometer has been observed at 112°, in South Amer- ica by Humbolt at 115°, in Africa at 125°. But, for a lim- ited period, much higher degrees of artificial heat have been borne without injury. Individuals have exposed themselves voluntarily to the air of ovens at temperatures from 260° to 315° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, without any great incon- venience, while water was boiling and meat baking in the same atmosphere. These facts show a power of resisting the operation of external causes, which is possessed by nr, sub stances except such as are endowed with life, and is, proba- bly, possessed in some degree by all that are. For, although vegetables and the lower orders of animals are not capable of resisting to the same extent the influence of heat - mals of this class are distinguished for a more perfect bodily structure, for more varied faculties, more delicate sensations, a more elevated intelligence, and greater capability of im- provement by imitation and education, than those of any other. Man is arranged with them, because he nearly resem- bles them in structure and organs, though raised in reality far above them by the possession of superior intellectual, and moral powers. There is a very considerable similarity in the anatomical conformation of all the animals of this class. The greater part of them are intended for motions confined to the surface of the earth ; but a few are capable of mounting into the air, as the bats; and others are adapted for a life confined to the water, as the whales. But notwithstanding these differences in their mode of life, their principal organs are nearly similar in the general plan of their construction. We shall begin therefore by a description of them as they exist in man, and afterwards point out such important modifications as exist in other animals which differ from him. The human body is divided into the head, trunk, and ex- tremities. The head includes the cranium, or skull, and the face. The skull is a large bony cavity, composed of several wide, thin, and arched bones, united together by sutures. It con- tains the brain, and gives passage to the spinal marrow, through a hole situated in its lower part, where it proceeds from the brain, and goes to the back-bone. The face is formed of the upper and lower jaws, and of the organs of see- ing, smelling, and tasting. The bones, which form the basis of these organs, are very numerous and difficult to describe ; they are united by sutures, and when taken together, give STRUCTURE OF MAN. 21 the general shape and constitute the features of the counte- nance. The head is placed on the top of the back-bone or ver- tebral column, and is capable of a number of motions upon it. The back-bone is the main support of the trunk of the body, and is composed of twenty-four distinct vertebrae, placed one above another, so as to form a kind of pillar or column. The body of each vertebra consists of a solid cylindrical piece of bone, and this is united firmly to those contiguous to it, above and below, by strong and elastic cartilages. The body of the vertebra is solid ; but behind it, and on each side, are projections of bone, called processes, which are arched over and connected together in such a manner as to form a canal from one end of the spine to the other. This canal contains the spinal nerve or marrow, and between the vertebrae are holes, through which branches are sent out to the different parts of the body. Seven of the vertebras belong to the neck, twelve to the back, and five to the loins. They are called respectively the cervical, dorsal, and lumbar vertebrae. They increase in size from above, downwards, so that the lumbar vertebrae are much larger, thicker, and stronger than those of the back and neck. To the dorsal vertebrae are affixed twelve ribs on each side, which arch over forwards, and are joined to the sternum or breast-bone by means of cartilage or gristle. In this way they form the cavity of the thorax or chest, which contains the heart and lungs. This cavity is terminated below by a muscular membrane, called the diaphragm or midriff, which extends from the edges of the lower ribs, and stretches across to the back-bone, so as to form a complete curtain or division between the chest and the abdomen which lies be- low it. This is another important cavity, usually called the belly, containing the stomach, liver, spleen, caul, alimentary or intestinal canal, kidneys, &,c. It is formed below by four bones attached to the lower end of the back, which spread out and constitute a sort of basin, called the pelvis. This serves as a solid basis to support all the heavy organs con- tained in the abdomen, which is protected before and at its sides only by skin, fat, and muscles, and has no bones, ex- cept below and behind. The limbs of man and other animals are called their ex tremities. The arm, or upper extremity, is composed of the shoulder, which has two bones, the collar-bone and shoulder- blade, by which it is connected with the trunk ; the arm, 22 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. which has only one bone, long and firm, expending to the el- bow ; the fore-arm, which has two long bones, parallel to each other, extending from the elbow to the wrist ; the wrist, having eight small and irregular bones ; and the hand, on which there are four fingers, each with four bones, and the thumb with three. These bones are united together, so as to form movable joints of various degrees of flexibility and power, by means of firm substances called ligaments. The surfaces which move upon one another, are covered by a smooth polished substance that renders all their motions easy and free from impediment. The lower extremities are constructed in a similar manner. The thigh-bone, the largest and strongest bone in the body, is connected above with one of the bones of the pelvis, by means of a large, round head, which is received into a socket of corresponding size, arid thus forms the hip-joint. Its lower end, together' with the knee-pan and one of the two bones of the leg, contributes to form the knee-joint. These last are parallel to each other, and extend from the knee to the ankle. The ankle is composed, like the wrist, of a number of small bones, of which there are seven, one of them projecting be- hind to form the heel. The toes have the same number of bones as the fingers and thumbs, but are shorter and less capable of free and extensive motions. These different bones are covered by muscles, fat, and skin, which constitute the principal soft parts of the body The muscles are fibrous organs, attached to the bones generally by tendons, whose contractions put the bones in motion, and thus originate all the movements of which we are capable. They act, in fact, like cords attached to levers, and operate according to strict mechanical principles. The organs, by whose operation the digestion of food, the circulation of the blood, and the other important functions are performed, are contained in the three cavities of the cranium, the thorax, and the abdomen, which have been already curso- rily described. We proceed to a consideration of these sev- eral functions, beginning with that of digestion. The food is in the first place taken into the mouth, mixed with the saliva, and ground into a kind of paste, by the ac- tion of the jaws and teeth. It is then swallowed through a long muscular canal, the oesophagus or gullet, which passes through the thorax behind the heart and lungs, near the back- bone, and is conveyed, through its upper or cardiac orifice, into the stomach. This is an irregularly-shaped muscular CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 23 bag or sack, situated in the upper part of the abdomen, at the spot usually called the pit of the stomach. It is capable of great distention or contraction, according to the quantity which is put into it. In the stomach, the food is acted on by a peculiar fluid, called the gastric juice. It has no remarka- ble sensible qualities, and is nearly tasteless and destitute of odor ; but its operation upon the substances exposed to its influence is very decided and powerful. They are gradually reduced, of whatever kind they may be, to one homogeneous mass, called chyme, of a grayish color, and of a consistence like that of thick cream. This operation being completed, the chym'e passes out of the stomach, by its lower or pyloric orifice, situated towards the right side, into the intestines, which form a long canal, and, taken together, are many times ilonger than the body. —j — In the intestines, the chyme is subjected to the action of ithe bile and pancreatic juice. The bile, or gall, is a brown- icolored, viscid, and very bitter fluid, prepared by the liver, i a large organ on the right side, just beneath the ribs, and col- ilected into the gall-bladder, where a part of it is reserved for use. The pancreatic juice resembles very nearly the saliva iin color and appearance, and is prepared by the pancreas, an organ situated just below the stomach. The effect of the mixture of these two fluids with the chyme, is to separate it into two parts. One of these is a thin, milky fluid, called \chyle; the remainder consists of those portions of the food jwhich are not fit for the nourishment of the system, but are Irejected and thrown out of it, as useless. The chyle is grad- iually absorbed by capillary vessels, called the lacteals, which jopen into the intestines through nearly their whole course, jand convey it into a vessel called the thoracic duct. This jduct ascends from the abdomen along the back into the tho- rax, and there empties its contents into the left subclavian vein, the vein coming from the left arm, where the chyle is I immediately mingled with the mass of blood, and enters with iit into the circulation. The chyle is nearly the same, from jwhatever substance it is prepared, when the digestion is per- fect. Some kinds of food, however, are capable of furnish- ting a larger proportion of it than others : this is the case with animal food, of which it takes a smaller quantity to supply the isystem with nourishment, than of vegetable. Animal sub- stances are also more easy of digestion ; and hence, it is ob- served, in those animals which subsist on vegetables, that the i digestive organs are more various, extensive, and complicated, 24 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. than in those which are carnivorous, as the changes to be produced in the nature of the aliment are greater. The chyle, being mixed with the blood, becomes a part of it, although it is not known where or how its change from the white to the red color is effected. It is then circulated throughout the body, by the heart, the arteries, and the veins. The heart is a hollow muscular organ, the main-spring of the circulation ; the arteries are long cylindrical canals or pipes, carrying the blood from the heart to the different parts of the body ; the veins are vessels of a similar form and structure, bringing the blood back to the heart, after it has gone the round of circulation. The heart -in rnan is a double organ ; that is, it consists of two complete and distinct organs, united together into one mass, but performing their functions without interference or connection. These two parts are called the right and left sides of the heart ; and each has two distinct cavities, called auricles and ventricles. The right side of the heart receives the blood from the body at large, and sends it to the lungs ; the left receives it from the lungs, and sends it to the body. The heart is of a conical shape, is situated in the thorax, just within the sternum, a little inclining to the left side. It is, however, placed with the apex, or point of the cone, extend- ing downwards and to the left, so that it touches the ribs at the spot where the beating is felt, and hence has usually been supposed to lie entirely on the left side. The main body of the heart is composed of the two ventricles, which are strong muscular cavities, — the left far more so than the right ; the auricles are situated around the base of the organ, seeming rather to be loose appendages than constituent parts of it. We shall begin with the course of the blood at the point where it receives its new supply from the chyle. The sub- clavian vein, after uniting with the vein from the other arm, and the veins coming down from the head and neck, conveys its blood immediately to the right auricle, where it meets with that brought from the lower parts of the body. The two trunks, which bring the venous blood in this way to the heart, are called the descending and ascending venae cavae. They pour their blood into the right auricle, which contracts and expels it, through an opening for that purpose, into the right ventricle. This opening is guarded by valves, which prevent the flowing back of the blood, by completely closing the passage. When the ventricle has become distended, it contracts in its turn, and the blood, being prevented by the • STRUCTURE OF MAN. 35 valves from returning to the auricle, is thrown forward into the pulmonary artery, which carries it to the lungs. This passage is also guarded by valves. At the time of its passage through the right side of the heart, the blood is of a dark bluish red or purple color, ap- proaching almost to black. It is generally called black blood, and is neither fit for circulation in the vessels, nor for the nourishment of the different parts. In this state it is sent to the lungs. These fill up all that part of the cavity of the chest not occupied by the heart, which they surround almost upon all sides. They consist principally of a collection of blood and air vessels, and are constantly supplied with air, which is drawn in through the windpipe, and distributed to every part of them. The blood is circulated, throughout their substance, by the branches of the pulmonary artery, and is, in its course, exposed to the influence of the air. By this means, its color is changed to a bright crimson or ver- milion, and it becomes again fit for the purposes of life. It is now brought back to the left side of the heart, by the pulmonary veins, and passes through the left auricle and ven- tricle, in a manner similar to that which has been already described with regard to the right side. The left ventricle, frqm its superior size and strength, gives to the blood a more powerful impulse ; than that which it receives from the right, and this is the more necessary, because it has a wider and more extensive course to traverse. From the left ventricle, it is thrown into the aorta, the great artery which supplies the whole body with blood. This artery ascends from the heart for a short distance, arches over, sends branches to the head and arms, and then descends behind the heart, and dis- tributes them to the other parts of the system. The branches thus distributed throughout the body, are subdivided again and again to an almost inconceivable degree of minuteness, and finally terminate in a system of vessels called capillary vessels. These pervade every part, and the blood, after passing through them, enters into another set of vessels, the veins, which gradually collect together and en- large in size, till they terminate, as has been before remarked, in two large trunks at the right auricle of the heart. In the capillary vessels, the blood undergoes a change in its quali- ties, precisely opposite to that which takes place in the lungs. It becomes, from a bright red color, of the same dark red which it was described to possess upon passing through the right side of the heart, in its passage to the lungs. The cause 3 26 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. of this change is not understood ; but it is presumed to pro- ceed from the office which the blood performs in the nutrition of the bod}' during its circulation, and by which some of its elements are abstracted from it, and combined with the tex- ture of the organs. The brain, in man, is the grand centre of sensation and per- ception. It is the instrument through which the mind main- tains its connection with the body; and this connection is ex- tended from the brain to the other parts by means of nerves. The brain is a large organ, of a peculiar texture, occupying the whole of the cavity of the cranium, and consisting of sev- eral distinct parts. Several pairs of nerves proceed from it through different apertures in the skull, and are distributed to the parts about the head, to convey to them the powers of sensation and motion. But besides these, there is another large single nerve passing down into the canal formed by the vertebrae, already described, and supplying the greater part of the body and limbs. Through the nerves, impressions are transmitted from all parts of the body to the brain; and on the other hand, all the acts of the will produce an effect upon the different organs by their means. The nerves are necessary to the exercise of the senses (which in man are five : seeing, hearing, smell- ing, tasting, and feeling) ; for, if the nerve going to the organ of either of these senses be injured, the mind no longer re- ceives any impression from them, as happens in the disease of the eye called gutta serena. And if the nerve going to any of the limbs be destroyed or obstructed, both sensation and power of motion in that limb are either destroyed or sus- pended. This happens when a limb, from long-continued pressure upon it, is said to be asleep ; as, in sitting for some time in one particular position, the nerve going to one of the legs is pressed upon, and the connection with the brain being thus interrupted, the consequence is a loss of feeling and mo- tion, which is sometimes so great as to cause the person af- fected to fall down, on attempting to walk. The senses, taken altogether, are more perfect in man than in any other animal. Yet in each of them, individually, he is probably excelled by some particular species. Thus, in sight, he is exceeded by the vulture and eagle ; in hearing, by the greater number of rapacious quadrupeds; in smell, by the dog; in taste, by a great many animals ; and in nicety arid delicacy of touch and feeling, by most insects. The skeleton and the internal organs of other animals, of y DIVISION INTO ORDERS. 27 the class Mammalia, exhibit fewer differences from those of man, than their external appearance would lead us to ima- gine. They are generally of such a nature as to adapt the animal for the particular kind of life which he is intended to lead, the motions which it is necessary for him to perform, and the food upon which he is to support himself. Thus the iimbs of monkeys are calculated for climbing, those of most others for walking on all fours; the fore legs of some animals are adapted for free and extensive motions, and furnished with claws, that they may seize and secure living prey, as In the tiger and the lion ; those of others are limited and confined in this particular, and terminated by hoofs, as the deer and horse, being intended to feed upon vegetable sub- stances alone. It is upon the consideration of differences of this kind, that the division of the animals of this class into orders is founded. The structure of an animal is always found to correspond to its character, mode of life, and food ; and those, therefore, which have a similar structure, resemble one another to the same extent in other particulars. From the formation of the anterior extremities of an animal, we may judge of the degree of address of which he is capable, and of the kind of motions he is able to perform ; and from the structure of his teeth, what is the nature of his food. Thus, the fore feet of animals may be either enveloped in hoofs, like those of the horse and the ox ; or armed with claws, like those of the lion ; or fur- nished with slender nails, like those of man and the ape; and the perfection of the sense of touch will be in proportion to the delicacy of these organs respectively. Thus, too, there are three kinds of teeth ; the incisory or cutting teeth ; the canine or dog teeth ; and the molar or grinding teeth ; but all animals have not each of these kinds of teeth, nor are they of the same shape and formation in all animals. The molar teeth, for instance, in the carnivorous animals, are sharp and cutting, fit only for the chewing of flesh ; and in the herbivo- rous, they are broad, with surfaces adapted for grinding grain, or the fibres of vegetables which require more mastication than flesh, before they are capable of being digested. It is principally from a regard to these parts, that naturalists have proceeded in the arrangement of the Mammalia. The orders thus formed are nine in number, as follows: — 1. The Bimana, or two-handed animals. Man is the only example of this order. He has hands upon his superior ex- tremities alone. He has nails of a thin and delicate texture, 28 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA. which give to his thumb and fingers a wonderful delicacy of touch. 2. The Quadrumana, or four-handed animals, comprising apes, monkeys, and baboons. They have hands upon all four of their extremities, but less perfect than those of man. 3. The Carnivora, or carnivorous animals. These have no hands, but their feet are furnished with claws. This is a very extensive order, and embraces a great variety of animals. These three orders have all the three kinds of teeth, which differ, however, in shape and strength, according to the habits and food of the different species. 4. The Rodentia, or gnawers ; so called from the structure of their fore teeth, which are particularly adapted for gnaw- ing. They have no canine teeth ; and their claws are similar to those of the carnivora. This order contains rats, squirrels, rabbits, &,c. 5. The Edentata, or toothless animals ; so called because they are deficient always in the incisive teeth, and sometimes have no teeth at all. Their toes are terminated by large and crooked nails, which obstruct both their sensations and mo- tions. The sloth and armadillo are in this order. 6. The Ruminantia, or ruminating animals, are those which chew the cud. They are cloven-footed, and have, moreover, no incisive teeth in the upper jaw. Among these are the ox, camel, lama, stag, and antelope. 7. The Pachydcrmata, or thick-skinned animals. This order includes a considerable variety of other animals with hoofs, but which do not ruminate ; as the horse, the wild boar, the hog, the tapir, and the elephant. 8. The Cetacea, or animals of the whale kind, distinguished by having no posterior extremities, and their anterior so con- structed as to answer the purpose of fins. In this order are whales, porpoises, and dolphins. 9. To these may be added the Marsupial animals, which do not come strictly under either of these orders, and are dis- tinguished from all others, by the possession, in the female, of a bag or pouch (marsupium) on the outside of the abdomen, for the purpose of holding their young after birth. Such are the kangaroo and opossum. We proceed to give some further account of these different orders of the Mammalia. I. JBimana. Some writers have affected to believe that man was originally intended to be a quadruped ; and that he has learned only from long experience the mode of walking CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA, MAN. 29 erect, and of applying his hands to the purposes for which he now employs them. They have represented him as only a more perlfect kind of ape ; and have endeavored to collect stories of wild men, who have been found living like beasts iu the midst of forests, destitute of speech and the arts of life ; and of races of apes and monkeys who can walk erect, and imitate the manners, gestures, and mode of life of men ; thus endeavoring to prove a near connection and relationship be- tween man. and these animals. It is undoubtedly the case, that man, in his external form, resembles this order of animals much more nearly than any other ; but he is yet by no means more nearly allied to them in this respect, than they are to some others, which are yet always considered of a distinct kind. The fact is, that since the animal kingdom forms a series of individuals rising, by a regular gradation, from a very humble and imperfect struc- ture, up to a very perfect one, there will necessarily be cer- tain points of resemblance between those which stand nearest to each other in this series. Hence the apes, which stand nearest to man, resemble him more than any other animal does, but not so much as many other animals resemble them. There is a greater difference between man and those species which are next below him, than there is between any other two species, which rank next to each other in the whole ani- mal kingdom. So that there is, in- truth, no more reason for saying that man is only an improved and educated ape, than there is for saying that a bee is only an improved and educated fly, a cow an improved sheep, or a horse a perfected ass. Man is distinguished from all other animals of the class Mammalia, by his erect attitude, and his power of walking upon two legs. This is naturally the case with no other one. Some are capable of being taught to walk upon their hind legs ; but they never do it with ease or from choice. The ape and monkey have, it is true, hands, very like those of the human species, which they are capable of using with great address and effect ; but then they have not feet or legs which enable them to walk upright : their feet are, in fact, formed like hands, having a palm, and a distinct thumb, opposed to the four fingers, and thus are able to grasp objects. The foot of man is very different. It has nothing which does the office of a thumb, and the sole does not perform that of a palm. It is flat, inflexible, and fit only for the purpose of walking. Apes, on the contrary, are adapted for climbing; and hence the peculiarity of their structure, which enables them to grasp 3* 3f) CLASS 1. MAMMALIA. ORDUR I. BIMANA. the small branches of trees with their feet as well as their hands. Strictly speaking, then, these tribes are principally distinguished from man by having four hands instead of two; and hence man is called a two-handed or bimanous animal ; and apes, monkeys, and baboons, four-handed or quadruma- nous animals. This alone would be a sufficient distinction ; but there are many others founded upon a variety of consid- erations, derived from the general structure of man. His head is larger and his face smaller, in proportion to his size, than those of the monkey. His eyes, his ears, in short, all his senses, are adapted to the erect position. He is incapable of going upon all fours with any facility, his lower extremities being so long as to render the posture of his head painful and even dangerous. The structure of man, and his faculties of mind, give him great advantages over other animals in point of adroitness, skill, and address. His erect position gives him the free use of his hands, which, though they have a general similarity to those of the monkey, are yet far more delicately and perfectly constructed. The thumb is larger ; the fingers, all except the ring-finger, have distinct motions ; the nails present excellent points of support, so as to admit of the handling of very small bodies ; and the arms have unencumbered and various motions in every direction. Still he is inferior, in point of strength, to most animals of his size : he is slow in running, is without natural means of defence, and has no natural covering. So that man, who, in the social state, is the lord of this lower world, the conqueror of the rest of creation, is, by nature and when alone, the weakest, the most helpless, and the most de- fenceless of all animals. There are several distinct races of mankind inhabiting dif- ferent portions of the earth, which differ one from another more or less in form, in features, in complexion, and in char- acter. The cause of these varieties have never been satisfac- torily pointed out. They have been attributed to climate, to situation, to manner of life, &c. ; but none of these circum- stances appear sufficient to produce them, and we therefore still remain in ignorance on the subject. These distinct races may be considered as five in number. 1. The Caucasian. 2. The Mongolian or Tartar. 3. The American. 4. The Negro or African. 5. The Malay. 1. The Caucasian. The individuals of this variety are dis tinguished by the beautiful oval form of their heads ; a large and full forehead ; regular and distinct features of the face, NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN. 31 which is small and narrow in proportion to the cranium ; a white skin, varying from a light rosy tint to a deep brown ; and hair and eyes of various colors. This race is called Caucasian, because its origin is referred, by tradition, to the group of mountains lying between the Black and Caspian seas, among which Caucasus has been celebrated. From thence it has spread itself over a considerable part of the known world. The inhabitants of Caucasus itself, the Georgians and Circas- sians, are to this day considered as the most beautiful speci- mens of the human form. In the ancient world, the most celebrated nations belonged to this race. The Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the Phoenicians, the Jews, probably the Egyptians, the Persians, the Scythians, the Parthians, the Greeks, the Romans, &,c., were of Caucasian origin. In modern times, nearly all the nations that inhabit the western part of Asia, nearly all the nations of Europe, and the descendants of Eu- ropeans in America and other parts of the world, are of the same race. They have been always distinguished for superior intel- lectual and moral qualities. With a few exceptions, they have maintained a decided ascendency in arms over the people of the other races, and have acquired a superiority over them in the elegances, refinements, and luxuries of life. They have been for ages the depositaries of literature, philosophy, science, and the arts, and have carried the human character to the highest degree of excellence it has ever reached. All that is beautiful and enchanting in poetry and the fine arts, all that is sublime and awful in religion, have belonged to them. 2. The Mongolian race is principally found in the eastern parts of Asia. It is distinguished by a low stature, by pro- jecting cheek bones; a depressed and retreating forehead; features not strongly marked; eyes narrow and oblique ; a nose somewhat broad and flat; thick lips; black, straight hair ; thin beard ; and an olive complexion. In this division are to be arranged the inhabitants of the great empires of China and Japan ; the hordes of Calmucks, of Mongols, &,c. ; the ancient Huns; the Finnish tribes of Northern Europe, as the Laplanders; the Kamtschadales ; the Esquimaux Indians inhabiting the northern parts of America ; and a number of other nations and tribes of less note. The individuals of this race are inferior in moral and intel / lectual qualities to those of the preceding. They have made but slight progress in civilization or literature, and have gen erally remained in a semi-barbarous state. Occasionally they 32 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA. have manifested great vigor and energy in military exploits; and three times have carried the terror of their arms over the greater part of Asia, and even into Europe, under Attila, Zenghis Khan, and Tamerlane. Their victories have gener- ally, however, been of short duration, as they have not the qualities suited to retain and govern the empires they conquer. 3. The African, or Negro, is remarkable for his narrow and depressed forehead ; his flat and broad nose ; his thick lips ; his projecting jaws ; black, crisped, and curled hair or wool ; black skin and eyes; and some other differences in bodily shape, which it is not necessary to enumerate. These char- acteristics are confined to Africans, and their descendants in different parts of the world. The individuals belonging to this race have seldom been distinguished for their mental fac- ulties or^noral endowments. They have always remained in a barbarous state, and are with difficulty induced to adopt the customs and habits of civilized life. 4. The American race resembles, in many respects, the Mongolian ; but differs from it in having more distinct and strongly-marked features, and a skin of a copper tint. All the native inhabitants of the new world, with the exception of the Esquimaux, come into this division. In general, they have made small advances in civilization and the arts, and prefer the wandering life of hunters to the comforts of settled hab- itations. In the empires of Mexico and Peru, was exhibited the highest pitch of refinement, to which they have ever arrived. 5. In the division called the Malay, are included nations differing very much one from another, in form, features, and character, and too imperfectly known to admit of being clearly described. Some of them, as the inhabitants of New Holland and Van Diemen's land, resemble very nearly the African race ; whilst others, as the inhabitants of Malacca and Suma- tra, and also those of the islands in the Pacific ocean, approach sometimes the Caucasian, and sometimes the Mongolian. But notwithstanding all these differences in man, he main- tains every where a decided rank, far above that of any other animal. He is the only one which has the "power of commu- nicating its thoughts and feelings by articulate speech ; the only one which can properly be said to avail itself of the advantages of society ; and the only one that, strictly speaking, educates its young. It is in consequence of these advantages, particularly that derived from association, that he has been enabled, under all circumstances, to acquire and preserve a NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN. 33 dominion over other animals, either by subjecting them to his use, or at least making himself the object of their fear. It is in consequence of these advantages, also, that he has been enabled to protect himself against the severity of climates, and thus spread his species over every part of the earth. Naturally tender and defenceless, he could only exist in the most equable and temperate climates ; but, aided -by the inven- tions and discoveries of social life, he is enabled to brave the cold of the polar circle, as well as the overpowering heat of the regions on the equator. Man is only partially governed by instinct. His knowledge is the result of education and experience. He knows nothing but what he has discovered himself, or what has been taught him by others. By means of language and writing, the dis- coveries and improvements of one generation are transmitted to the next, and thus are the ground of an almost indefinite progress towards perfection. Other animals, being principally governed by instinct, are stationary ; they neither advance nor recede in their manners or habits ; by being associated one with another, they do not improve ; and, although capa- ble of being educated by man, they do not educate one another. The first swarm of bees that existed, probably constructed as perfect a honey-comb as is done now : they do not improve upon the plan which instinct has pointed out to them ; it is a plan which they did not in the first place contrive, and cannot amend. But if we compare the rude and ill-constructed hab- itations of savage nations with the splendid and luxurious edifices of civilized life, we instantly perceive the influence which language, society, and education have had upon the human race. We are sensible of the great difference between that skill, which is the result of instinct, and that which is acquired by a being capable of reasoning and speaking. Being thus susceptible of constant progress in improvement, man is found under different circumstances in different stages of this progress. In his primitive state, he supports him- self upon the flesh of animals, which he destroys in the chase, or upon the wild fruits of the forest. He has not, therefore, time to devote to the cultivation of the arts, or to the educa- tion of his children ; he learns nothing but how to construct his hut and his canoe ; he clothes himself with the skins of wild beasts ; and he observes the natural objects around him so far only as he can make them subservient to his purposes. When he comes into the possession of the domestic animals, Ihe cow, the horse, the sheeo, &c., he finds that he can 34 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. derive an easier and less precarious subsistence from their milk and flesh, than from the products of the chase. He rears, therefore, numerous herds of these animals, and being only occupied in finding them pasturage and shelter, is com- paratively at leisure to apply himself to some of the arts of civilized life. He manufactures clothing from their skins and wool, of various degrees of delicacy and elegance. He builds himself more commodious habitations; and from the different degrees of industry and skill, with which different individual? apply themselves to these occupations, arises an inequality of conditions. Some become rich, and others comparative!} poor. The rich acquire a disposition to indulge in the com forts and luxuries of life, and this is found to be inconsistent with the wandering and unsettled life which they lead as mere shepherds. Hence they are induced to fix themselves perma- nently upon particular tracts of country, which come to be con- sidered as their property ; and thus they gradually devote them- selves to the cultivation of the soil. This enables a given portion of land to support a much greater number of people, than when it was devoted to the feeding of herds ; and, hence, as agriculture becomes established, the population of a coun- try regularly increases. Society also becomes settled and permanent. Every individual is able to produce more by his own labor, than is sufficient for his own support, and some therefore devote themselves to other occupations, the results of which they exchange with the laborer for his surplus. Nations also exchange with one another their superfluities. Thus com- merce is established ; and the arts and elegancies of life are one by one brought to light, as the growing wealth of indi- viduals and nations creates a demand for them. II. The Quadrumana, as has been before observed, approach more nearly to man, both in their internal structure and external form, than any other animal. They differ, how- ever, in the size and shape of the head, which is proportion- ably smaller, narrower, and less elevated ; in the conforma- tion of the face, which has a flat, depressed nose, and very prominent jaws and teeth ; in the length of the fore-arm : and in the construction of the lower extremities, which are not calculated for the erect posture, and are furnished with hands, instead of feet like those of men. Their structure fits them evidently for climbing, and their usual places of habita- *ion are trees, on the fruits of which they feed. They main- tain the erect position with difficulty ; it is a constrained one, since it obliges them to straighten the joints of the hip more ORDER II. QUADRUMANA. 35 than is easy or natural, and to rest their weight upon the outer edges of their feet or hind hands. Generally, then, they employ all four of their limbs in walking or running; but their motions, when upon the ground, are very various and irregular. They form a numerous tribe, and comprehend a great variety of species, known under the name of apes, monkeys, baboons, &.c. These names are generally employed with little discrimination, but they are intended to point out some general differences of form. Thus, the apes are destitute of a tail ; that of the monkeys is about the length of their bodies ; and that of the baboons a very short one. Besides these, which are confined to the old continent, the sapajous, which include those belonging to the new world, have all long tails ; arid these are, in many instances, of so much strength, as to answer in some measure the purpose of a fifth limb, enabling the animal to grasp with it the branches of trees or other objects, to assist in climbing. These are called prehensile tails. The ourang-outang and chimpanze are the most cele- brated of this order, for their similarity in face and form to the human race ; whilst many other species, by their elongated snout, depressed forehead, and other particulars, approach more nearly to other quadrupeds. The Ourang-outang, or wild man of the woods, which is the meaning of the name in the Malay language, is found only in some Eastern climates, and has seldom been seen in Europe; although many other animals have been exhibited under this name. He is a native of Malacca and Cochin China, but is principally found in the great island of Borneo, in the East Indies. He is from three to four feet in height ; his body covered with a thick red hair ; his forehead high and full ; and his face of a bluish color. He is mild and docile, is easily tamed, and becomes attached to those about him. lie is able, in consequence of his bodily form and organs, to imitate very accurately a great variety of human actions; but is, on the whole, not more remarkable for sagacity and inte - ligence than the dog. The Chimpanze is a larger animal, and has been said by travellers to equal or exceed the size of man. This, how- ever, is not well authenticated. His body is covered with black or brown hairs. He can be taught to walk, to sit, and to eat like men. He is a native of Congo and Guinea, lives with his fellows in troops, and by means of clubs and stones, repels the attacks of man and other animals. It has been 36 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. said that he constructs for himself a hut with the foliage and branches of trees ; but he probably does little more than pro- vide, in this way, a very rude shelter for himself against rain and storms. The Pongo is probably the largest of the animals of this order, and is a formidable and ferocious creature. He inhabits the island of Borneo, and is, from the structure of his poste- rior limbs, as well able to support himself in the erect posture, as the ourangoutang or chimpanze. His history has been confounded with that of those animals, and his character and many of his habits have been attributed to them. But he is, in fact, very different in some important particu- lars, as the shape of his head approaches that of quadrupeds, and his muzzle or snout is very long and projecting. One of the most remarkable species among the baboons, is the great gray baboon, inhabiting Arabia and some parts of Africa. He is more than five feet in height, and is very fero- cious. His head and shoulders are covered with a long growth of gray hair, which has the appearance of a large full- bottomed periwig, and, combined with the gravity of his coun- tenance, gives him a singular and grotesque appearance. He is called, by the French naturalists, Papion a perruque. A few of the American monkeys, or Sapajous, are furnished with a pouch or bladder connected with the wind-pipe, which gives to their voice an enormous volume and a tremen- dous tone. They are called, from this circumstance, Howler monkeys. Some of the smaller and more inoffensive species of the duadrumana are playful, peaceable, and amusing little animals ; but in general they are a noisy, chattering, mischievous race, whose distorted resemblance to the human face and figure only renders them hideous and disgusting. III. Carnivora. This order includes a great number and a great variety of animals. They are furnished with the three kinds of teeth, but these differ more or less in shape from those of man and the monkeys, so as to be adapted for the mastication of animal food, upon which they subsist, either in part or altogether. They are subdivided into several tribes or families, accordingly as they are more or less carniv- oroas. In some of these tribes the molares are very sharp and cutting, and thus indicate that the animal feeds entirely upon flesh ; in others, they are broader, being adapted partly for the mastication of vegetable food ; and in others, they are armed with a number of points or cones, which are fitted for ORDER III. CARNIVORA. 3? a diet consisting principally of insects. Their fore legs are capable of pretty free and extensive motions, and are furnished with nails or claws, but no thumb ; whence they are far in- ferior in point of address to the apes. They are remarkable for possessing the sense of smell to a high degree of perfec- tion. Their organs of digestion are in general less com- plicated and extensive than those of other animals. The stomach is smaller, and the intestines shorter; animal food requiring less change than vegetable in order to convert it into chyle. 1. The first tribe, or family, is that of the Bats. These ' have some points of affinity with the Quadrumana, and were arranged by Linnaeus with man and the monkeys. They are sufficiently distinguished, however, by their wings. These are formed of a thin fold of skin, which extends between the two limbs of the same side, and is likewise stretched across the claws of the fore feet, which are very long and slender, and serve to keep the membrane extended like the sticks of an umbrella. By means of this apparatus, many of them are enabled to fly with a force and rapidity equal to that of birds ; but, in others, it answers only the purpose of a parachute to break their fall from lofty places, or to enable them to per- form great leaps in their passage from tree to tree. They are principally nocturnal animals, seeking their prey (which consist of insects, small quadrupeds or birds, and flesh of any kind) in the twilight, and retiring during the day to dark and hidden recesses, where they remain suspended by their claws, till the return of night. Their eyes are extremely small, and apparently of little use ; but the cavities of their ears are extensive. They possess the singular faculty of directing their flight with great accuracy and precision, without the assistance of the sense of sight, and even after their eyes have been destroyed. It has been found that, after the complete removal of the eyeball, bats are able to fly about in a room without touching the walls, apparently with as much ease and security as before. What is still more remarkable, when several willow rods are placed six inches distant from ^each other, so as to form a sort of grating, the bats, after the destruction of their eyes, are able to pass backward and forward through the spaces without ever coming in contact with the rods. It is difficult to give any satisfactory account of this phenomenon, and yet the experi- ments from which the knowledge of it has been derived, are well authenticated, and have been frequently repeated. It 4 38 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. lias been attributed to the great extent and uncommon deli cacy of the membrane constituting the wings, and of that lining the ear, which have been supposed to render the animal capable of judging, from the impressions made upon it by the air, of the relative distances and positions of external objects. Bats retire upon the approach of cold weather in the autumn, and pass the winter in a dormant state. They frequently suspend themselves together in large clusters, that by their warmth they may reciprocally assist each other in resisting the effects of the cold. During this period, the powers of life seem to be almost extinct, the temperature of the animal is much lowered, and he becomes lean and exhausted ; so that he awakens in the spring in a state of great weakness and emaciation, although in the autumn he may have been very fat. Beside the common bat, with the appearance of which all are familiar, there are many others, differing a good deal in size and disposition, which inhabit other countries. Among them is the Vampyre bat, which is from five inches to a foot in length, and has membranous wings extending from four to six feet. It inhabits Africa and Asia, but is found most abun- dantly in the East Indian islands. It is very gregarious, and is found in immense flocks. Five hundred have been counted hanging on a single tree. It does not confine itself to animal food, but subsists also upon fruits and vegetables, and is the cause of great injury to the produce of the countries it in- habits. It has been supposed to suck the blood of persons lying asleep, by making an orifice in some exposed vein, which it does so easily as not to awaken the sleeper, to the sound- ness of whose slumbers it contributes by fanning him gently with its wings. Hence this animal has received the name Vampyre, and is thought to have given origin to the ancient fable of the Harpies. It is said to be excellent food. The Spectre bat is a species very similar in its habits to the one just described. It is a smaller animal, not exceeding seven inches in the length of its body, and two feet in the extent of the membrane of its wings. It is an inhabitant of South America and New Holland, and exists in immense numbers. It has the same propensity for drawing blood as the Vampyre, and is said to cause great injury and destruc- tion among cattle by this means. In New Holland, twenty thousand have been computed to be seen within the compass of a mile. It is of a mild disposition, and is easily tamed and domesticated. ...1. ... 2. The second tribe of this order includes a number of ORDER III. CARNIVORA. 31) small animals, which feed principally upon insects, and are called insectivorous. Many of them pass the winter in a state of lethargy, and during summer they lead a secluded, noctur- nal, or subterranean life. Their limbs are short, and their motions very feeble. Among the most worthy of notice are the hedgehog, the tenrec, the shrew-mouse, and the mole. The Hedgehog is remarkable for being covered with short, strong spines instead of hairs, and for the faculty of drawing its head and feet in such a manner under its belly, as to give itself the appearance of a ball covered with sharp bristles. In this way it resists the attacks made upon it, using no other method of defence ; and no violence will induce it to alter its form or position. It is a harmless and inoffensive animal, and suffers injuries of all kinds with great patience and forbear- ance. It is about nine or ten inches in length, inhabits holes and decayed trees, into which it retreats in order to pass the winter. Its skin was used by the ancients for a clothes-brush, and has been sometimes employed for the purpose of dressing hemp. The Moles are peculiarly adapted, by the structure of their nose and feet, for burrowing in the earth. This operation they perform with great facility and rapidity. So expert are they, that if put upon the grass where the earth is soft, they force their way into it almost immediately ; and even upon a hard, gravelly road, they can cover themselves in the course of a few minutes. They feed principally upon the earth- worm, and prefer the soil in which it is to be found in greatest abundance for their residence. They construct habitations of a peculiar form, to be hereafter described, in which they rear their young, and lead a social and domestic life. They sometimes increase in number to such ari extent, as to be a serious annoyance to the husbandman. 3. The animals of the third tribe possess the characteris- tics of this order in the highest degree. They are endowed not only with an appetite for animal food, and a structure adapted for its mastication and digestion, but with strength and courage for seizing and retaining it. They are not all, however, purely carnivorous, nor equally ferocious. Some are slow and indolent in their motions, and clumsy in their forms, passing the winter in cold climates in a state of lethargy, arid being capable of subsisting in a great measure upon vege- table food. Such are the bear, glutton, and badger. There are others, as the weasel, the ermine, the ferret, and the pole- cat, mean in size and appearance, and of a long, lean body. 40 CLASS 1. MAMMALIA. with very short legs, enabling them to creep through very narrow apertures. They are small and feeble, but still ex- tremely cruel. Others again, as the dog, the wolf, the fox, and the jackal, are possessed of a good deal of strength, but do not exhibit a proportionate degree of courage and ferocity. But the lion, tiger, panther, &-c., are at once the most power- ful, the most bloody, and the most ferocious of the animal kirigddm. Their fore paws are endowed with prodigious muscular power, and are armed with sharp and piercing nails, which, in a state of rest, are drawn in and concealed from sight. They are the terror of the forest, feed only upon flesh and blood, and sometimes, when driven by hunger, attack even man himself. The Dog, so well known to all mankind, presents a great variety of shape, size, and color, according to the different breeds produced by the different situations in which he has been placed. No animal is so completely under the control of mankind. Every individual of the species gives himself up wholly to his master, obeys his voice, acquires his habits, de- fends his property, and, even in spite of caprice and ill usage, remains faithful till death. This connection, this attachment, does not proceed so much from necessity, as from a true sen- timent of friendship. The dog is the only animal which has accompanied man to every part of the earth, and forms his most useful ally, particularly in the early stages of society, ir bringing into subjection the inhabitants of the forest. It has been supposed by some, that the dog was originally the same with the wolf, and by others, that he is a jackal in a domestic state. But the origin of his connection with man is too re- mote and obscure to allow this question to be determined. The animals of the Cat kind are all of a fierce and bloody disposition; some are remarkable for the majesty and ele- gance of their form, or the beauty of their skin. The lion and the tiger are the two most celebrated species. The Lion is a native of Asia and Africa; and is found some- times of the length of eight or nine feet, exclusively of the tail. His appearance is majestic and dignified ; and, although entirely carnivorous, he is not remarkable for cruelty or the unnecessary destruction of life, but has been often noted for striking traits of generosity and magnanimity. His muscular strength is immense ; a single stroke of his paw is sufficient to destroy some of the larger animals on which he preys ; a sweep of his tail will knock down a man ; and he is able to carry off an ox, or even a buffalo, when lightened of its en- ORDER 111. CARN1VOUA 41 trails, with apparent ease. In populous countries, where he is accustomed to the sight and acquainted with the power of man, he is comparatively timid, and will sometimes even fly before women or children ; but in those where he is undis- turbed in his dominion of the forest, he defies man as well^is all other animals, and has been known singly to attack a whole caravan. The lion, when taken young, is capable of being tamed ; and, in a state of confinement, has Jived to the age of seventy years. The Royal Tiger is an ^ inhabitant of the warmer parts of Asia and the Indian islands. He attains to nearly the size of the lion, and is of equal strength, but far more bloody and cruel. He is the scourge of the countries which he infests, and has sometimes almost depopulated whole villages. Such is his vigor and the rapidity of all his motions, that he has been known, when lurking around an army on the march, to spring from a thicket upon a soldier, tear him from his horse, and convey him into the forest without being molested. When he has seized a large animal, if uninterrupted, he plunges his head into the midst of the carcass, and sucks the blood. He is not so easily or completely tamed as the lion ; but if taken young, is susceptible of a certain degree of domestication. 4. A fourth tribe of the Camivora comprehends the am- phibious animals, as the Seal and the Morse. They differ from other quadrupeds very widely in their external appear- ance, whilst their internal structure is very nearly the same. Their limbs are composed of a similar number of bones, ar- ranged in the same way, but so short and so enveloped by their skin, as to be of but little use for walking. But as the intervals between the toes are so filled up with skin, they form excellent oars; so that these animals move with great rapidity and address in the water, although they can only 'crawl awkwardly upon land. They feed principally upon fish ; and the structure of their teeth is manifestly that of carnivorous animals. They live almost entirely in the sea, and come upon shore only for the purpose of reposing in the sun and suckling their young. They breathe, however, like other Mammalia ; and hence cannot constantly remain under water, but are obliged to return occasionally to the surface for air. Still they are able to live a long time without breath- ing ; and it has been asserted that there is some peculiar con- formation about their heart, which renders this possible, But no such peculiarity is found to exist. The Sea.'s are mild and inoffensive, except when provoked. 4 * 42 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER IV. RODENTIA. They are easily tamed, and become attached to those who feed them. Their head somewhat resembles that of the dog. They live together in large herds or families, and are valua- ble as objects of trade on account of their skins and oil. IV. Rodentia, the Gnawers, are distinguished by the pos- session of two large incisive teeth in the centre of each jaw, and by the absence of canine teeth. There is a wide space between the incisors and the molares, which last are broad, and evidently calculated for the mastication of vegetable food. This arrangement of their Jeeth remarkably qualifies them for gnawing, and enables them to penetrate very solid substances ; and frequently they feed upon woody fibres and the bark of roots and trees. There is an additional circum- stance in the structure of their incisive teeth, which adapts them to the use for which they are intended. They are fur- nished with enamel only upon their front surface, so that the back part, being merely bone, is by gnawing worn away faster than that in front, and of course the front edge is kept sharp and fit for cutting. To remedy the loss of substance which necessarily takes place, there is a provision by which a constant growth takes place from the root ; so that if one of these teeth is lost by accident, that which corresponds to it in the opposite jaw, being no longer worn away by use, in- creases to a great length. Their feet are furnished with toes and nails, and their hind legs are stronger and longer than their fore legs ; so that frequently they leap better than they run. Of this order, among others, are the beaver, the squir- rel, the dormouse, the marmot, the hamster, the mouse and rat, the jerboa, the various species of hare and rabbit, and the porcupine. The Beavers (Castor fiber) have been long celebrated for the value of their skins as an article of commerce, and for the wonderful sagacity and forethought which they exhibit in the construction of their dwellings. Their cutting teeth are very strong and sharp, and they are able, with them, to fell lofty trees.* They are possessed of a large, long, and broad * In felling a tree, several beavers are engaged at once around its trunk, and they pnaw it carefully in such a part of the circumference, as will cause it to fall in a direction convenient for their purposes. An observer of them relates, that he wit- nessed three beavers occupied in cutting round a tree; that, after a certain period, one of them left the two others, and went to a considerable distance, where ha quietly watched their operations ; and that, when the trunk was nearly divided, so that the weight of the branches was sufficient to bring down the tree, and the in- clination was obvious on lookitrg at its summit, he gave a smart stroke with his tail upon the water, as a signal to his companions, who immediately ran off with jreat expedition to escape the impending danger. — Long's Expedition. ORDER IV. RODENTIA. 43 tail, almost oval in its shape, and covered with scales. It has been supposed that they used this as a kind of trowel, to jay on the mud and clay of which their dikes are partly built. But it has also been sometimes asserted that the tail was only of use as an instrument for swimming. They are aquatic animals, and construct themselves habitations upon waters which are sufficiently deep never to be frozen to the bottom, preferring running streams upon which the trees they cut can float down to whatever spot they have chosen. Here they build a dam for the purpose of preserving the water always of a convenient depth, and construct their huts or cabins. Of their skill, sagacity, and intelligence, a more par- ticular account will be given hereafter. But, although so wonderful in these respects when united in a society, they are, for the most part, helpless and timorous animals when living separately ; a beaver, although pretty large and 'strong, and armed with powerful teeth, if he meets a man alone upon the shore, sets himself down upon his haunches, and "cries like a child. ^— - The Jerboa is a little animal of about the size of a rat, with a tail ten inches long, and legs of very unequal size, the hind legs being six inches, whilst the fore legs are but one inch in length. It cannot of course use them all at once without great difficulty, and moves principally by leaps, which are sometimes of five or six feet in extent, or by a hopping motion on its two hind legs, which resembles that of birds. Its fore legs it employs only as hands for the purpose of holding its food. It has been asserted that the ancient cony, mentioned in the Old Testament, was the jerboa, which inhabits Pales- tine to this day. There is an American species called the Canadian Jerboa, which does not exceed two and a half or three inches in length. It has the same general characteristics as the animal before ^$-»- mentioned, and even exceeds it in the length of its leaps, which extend, if we may credit the accounts given of them, to the enormous distance of three or four yards, or nearly fifty times the length of its body. The Hamster is an animal larger and thicker than the Jer- boa, and nearly allied to the common rat. It is distinguished by cheek pouches, which are capable of containing a very large quantity of food. When empty, they are so contracted as not to appear externally visible ; but when filled, they are stretched to an enormous extent, and are capable of contain- ing a gill of grain. A hamster has been caught and dissected, 44 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER V. EDENTATA. that had stored in its pouches a quantity of beans, which, when taken out and laid in a heap, appeared to exceed the bulk of its whole body. The Canada rat is almost equally remarkable for the size of these receptacles. Of the Alpine Marmot some account will be given here- after. There is another species, however, which deserves a short notice. This is the Louisiana Marmot, usually known by the name of the prairie dog, from a slight resemblance of its cry to the barking of a small dog. It is a sprightly and interesting little animal, inhabiting the country around the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, and is found in villages from a few acres to several miles in extent, which are called by the hunters, prairie dog villages. It lives in burrows, the entrance to which is in the summit or side of a small mound of earth, somewhat elevated, but rarely to the height of eighteen inches. This mound, particularly around the entrance, is trodden down like a pathway. They delight, in pleasant weather, to sport about the entrance of their burrows, and five or six individuals may be seen sitting on a single mound. When alarmed, if the object of terror be near at hand, they retreat immediately into their holes ; but if at a distance, they remain for some time barking and flourishing their tails, or sitting erect to reconnoitre. The Porcupine is covered with hard and sharp spines, which afford it a natural protection against the attacks of other animals. In this respect it resembles the hedgehog, and, were external appearance alone regarded, would be arranged with it ; but both its structure and its habits of life are different, and it is obviously intended for subsisting upon vegetable food. V. Edentata, Toothless apimals, so called from the absence of the ii.cisive, and sometimes also of the canine and grinding teeth. Their toes are terminated by very large, thick, and strong claws, which approach in some degree to the nature of hoofs. The animals of this order are likewise remarkable for a great degree of torpor, listlessness, and indis- position to motion ; but some more than others. The sloth, the ant-eater, and armadillo, are among them ; and of each of these there are several species. The Three-toed Sloth is an animal w.hose very aspect is painful and disgusting, from its excessive ugliness and defor- mity. The expression of its countenance and its whole atti- tude, indeed, convey to the beholder the impression, that its very existence is a burden. It is about the size of a cat. Its ORDER VI. RUMINANTJA. 45 fore legs are much larger than its hind ones, and it drags the latter after its body, as if weary of carrying them. It creeps, in fact, almost with its belly upon the ground, and cannot advance more than fifty or sixty paces in a day. , It climbs trees, and feeds upon their leaves and smaller branches ; but such is its indolence, that, after having despoiled one tree of its foliage, it endures the pangs of hunger a long time, before it removes to another, and usually consumes a day or two in ascending or descending. Sometimes, indeed, it has been known to suffer itself to fall to the ground, rather than undergo the labor of coming down by the trunk. The Armadilloes are principally remarkable for their crus- taceous shell or covering, which invests them like a suit of armor. This coat of mail is composed of several pieces, and marked by bands, the number of which serves to distinguish the different species from each other. The Ant-eaters are totally destitute of teeth, but are fur- nished with a long, slender tongue. This they thrust into the habitations of ants and termites, and draw it back covered with these animals, which adhere to it by the thick, viscid saliva, with which it Is covered. The animals of this order are principally found in the warm parts of the American continent. VI. Ruminantia. This order is one of the most distinct and well marked among- the Mammalia. They have gene- rally eight incisive teeth in the lower jaw ; but except the camel, they have none in the upper ; their place being occu- pied by a firm callous projection. They are commonly also destitute of the canine teeth. The grinders are always adapted for the mastication of vegetable food. They have neither toes nor nails, but, instead of them, each of their feet is terninated by a double hoof, which has the appearance of a single one cut in two. Hence they are called cloven-footed. Their fore feet, being thus deprived of the instruments of feel- ing, are only capable of being used, like the hind ones, for walking; and consequently they are not possessed of that freedom of motion in the shoulder-joint, which is observed in the animals previously described. Examples of this order are found in the camel, lama, antelope, musk, deer, ox, sheep, and goat. The most distinguished attribute of the ruminating animals, and that which gives to them their name, is the power of bringing their food up into their mouths, after it has been once swallowed, for the purpose of masticating it a second time. 46 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. This power depends upon the structure of their stomachs, of which there are four. Of these the three first are so situated that the aliments may be made to enter either of them at pleasure, as the oesophagus terminates at a point where they all communicate together. These animals usually feed upon grass and herbage; which substances, after being slightly chewed, are carried into the first stomach, called the paunch; there they undergo but little change, and are gradually transferred to the second stomach, a small globular cavity, called the bonnet, or king's hood, whose internal membrane is arranged in cells of an appear- ance like those of honey-comb. Having received the food, this stomach divides it into little rolls or pellets, which are successively carried up into the mouth, where they undergo a thorough mastication, and are then again swallowed and deposited in the third stomach"; This, called manyplics, tripe, or feck, is distinguished by th*i numerous longitudinal folds of its internal membrane. It effects some further change upon the alimentary mass. In the fourth stomach, however, into which it next passes, the principal work of digestion goes on. This answers to the single stomach of other animals ; into it the gastric juice is poured, and here the function is finally completed. During the rumination, the animal remains in a state of repose, almost of sleep; and this operation continues until the whole of the food previously swallowed has been subjected to it. The ruminating animals have been more valuable to man, than any others. They are mild, docile, and easily domesti- cated. Their flesh furnishes us with a large proportion of our animal food ; indeed there are few other quadrupeds that man is in the habit of eating. Several of them, as the camel, the lama, ox, and rein-deer, are used as beasts of draught and1 burden. They require, comparatively, little care, attention, or protection, and are generally contented with the cheapest1 and coarsest food. The milk, fat, hair, wool, skins, horns, and feet of one species or another, are made use of, for nour- ishment, for clothing, or for various manufactures. The Camel and Dromedary are singularly valuable in the countries where they are reared. Without them, in fact, the great deserts of Arabia and of Africa would be totally impas- sable. Their structure is every way adapted for the life which they lead. Their feet are very large, and divided, on their upper part, into two lobes, having each a hoof; but under- neath are covered with an extremely strong, tough, and pliable ORDER VI. RUMINANT1A. 47 skin, which unites the two together, and, by yielding in -'iL directions, enable? these animals to travel with peculiar ease i and security over dry, stony, and sandy regions. They are : capable also of passing several days without a supply of water : this power is probably owing to a number of large and exten- sive cells in the paunch, which they fill with water, and retain it for a considerable length of time, forcing it up into the mouth whenever occasion requires. It has been supposed that the camel had a fifth stomach for this purpose, but it was probably the enlargement of the paunch, which gave rise to the opinion. The Arabian camel, of which the dromedary is a variety, has one large bunch of fat upon his back, while the Bactrian camel has two. The dromedary is active and swift, and better adapted for rapid journeys ; the camel more slow ind deliberate, and calculated for the transportation of bag- gage and merchandise. The Lama has been called the camel of the new world. It resembles the camel in many particulars, but is much smaller, being of about the size of the stag. It is also called the Gruanaco, and was the only laboring domestic animal possessed by the aboriginal inhabitants of America. The American Bison, or Buffalo, as it is often, but improp- 3rly called, is an animal very similar to the domestic ox. It inhabits the pastures and plains of the western parts of the United States in almost incredible numbers. In those parts jf the country which they frequent, travellers report that } heir paths leading to and from springs and pools of water, • ire as common, and as well beaten, a» the roads of a populous jr district. They are gradually retiring before the settlements 0 )f the civilized inhabitants, and will probably in time become 'e learly exterminated. The Camelopard, or Giraffe, is the most lofty of all quadru- peds. It is remarkable for the great length of its fore legs, j shoulders, and neck, which raise its head to an elevation of seventeen or eighteen feet, whilst, at its tail, it does not exceed half that height. Its color is white, spotted with brown, .t is a mild, gentle, and somewhat timid animal, and is very leet and graceful in its motions. It feeds principally upon the bliage of trees, and inhabits only the centre of Africa. AH the ruminating order, except the camel, lama, and the " nusks, have horns. In animals of the deer kind, they are, vith some exceptions, confined to the males. They are of i hard, solid, bony substance, generally large and branching, md are periodically cast off and renewed. In the sheep, 48 ORDER VII. PACHYDERMATA. the goat, the ox, and the antelope, they are permanent, are hollow, and increase yearly in size ^whilst in the camelopard they are short, conical, and always covered by the skin of the forehead, which extends over them, and by a quantity of thick, bristly hairs. VII. Pachydermata. This order embraces all the animals with hoofs which do not ruminate. They present a greater variety than the ruminating animals, and are called Pachy- dermata, because they are commonly possessed of a thick and tough skin. They have generally incisive teeth in both jaws, and often canine teeth or tusks of very great size. Of this order are the elephant, the hippopotamus, the tapir, the hog, the horse, the ass, &,c. The elephant has, properly speaking, five hoofs on each foot, but they are so much enveloped by thick and callous skin, as to be scarcely observable. It is destitute of incisive teeth in either jaw; and, in place of the canine teeth in the upper, is furnished with two large tusks, which sometimes attain to an enormous size. These, which furnish the ivory of commerce, are used by the animal for tearing off the branches of trees, upon which it feeds, and sometimes as instruments of attack and defence. From the shortness of its neck, and the clumsiness of its head and jaws, the elephant is incapable of taking up its food or drink from the ground with the mouth like other animals. This difficulty is obviated by its trunk or proboscis. This is a long and flexible organ, composed of an almost infinite number of little muscles, which contract and extend it at the animal's pleasure, and move it in every possible direction. It is in fact a prolongation of the nostrils, and is endowed with the senses of smelling and feeling to a great degree of perfection. T.here is at its extremity a cavity of a cup-like form, into which open two canals that run through its whole length, and serve for the transmission of air and for drawing up water. At the upper edge of this cavity, or cup, is a small fleshy appendage, somewhat resembling a finger in shape, which, by being opposed to the surface of the cup, as the fingers are opposed to the palm of the hand, enables the animal to make use of its trunk as an organ of touch. It is nearly equal in this respect to the hand of the apes. From its length and flexibility, the trunk is capable of being bent double, and its extremity inserted within the jaws which are below, at its base ; and in this way the animal's food, being taken up by the trunk, is conveyed into the mouth ; whilst its drink, being first sucked up into the cavities of the trunk, is ORDER VII. PACHYDERMATA. 49 ,njected with considerable force through the apertures of the nostrils into the throat. There are two species of elephant ; the Indian or Asiatic, which inhabits the southern parts of Asia and the Indian isles ; and the African, found in Africa, from the river Sene- gal to the Cape of Good Hope. The great Mastodon, or Mammoth, as it has been more frequently called, an animal whose bones only have been dis- covered, the species itself having become extinct, resembled the elephant in many respects. It has been ascertained, from the remains which have been found, that this animal pos- sessed a trunk, tusks, and feet, similar to those of the ele- phant, and was of an equal size, but still more heavy and unwieldy. Its remains have been discovered in great abun- dance in North America, but rarely in any other part of the world. The bones of a smaller species have been found on the eastern continent. The Hippopotamus, or River Horse, inhabits principally the rivers of the south of Africa, but was formerly known upon the southern extremities of the Nile. It is sometimes found ten or twelve feet in length, and six or seven in height. It has two very large tusks in the under jaw, which are partly concealed by its projecting snout and lips. These tusks are used by dentists for the manufacture of artificial teeth. It is a heavy, stupid, and ferocious animal ; its body is thick, massy, and clumsy ; and its legs are so short that its belly almost drags upon the ground. It subsists upon roots and other vegetable substances, and frequently commits great devastation in the fields of millet, corn, rice, sugar-cane, &/c. It walks with great ease at the bottom of the water, though obliged occasionally to rise to the surface for breath. An attack upon it while in the water is dangerous, since, when wounded, it becomes exceedingly furious, and often tears to pieces the boat of its aggressors. Of the Rhinoceros there are several species. The one homed rhinoceros is somewhat larger than the hippopotamus, and is equally stupid and ferocious. It has one large and solid horn, three feet in length, projecting from its snout. It frequents moist and marshy grounds, and feeds upon herbs, roots, and branches of trees. The other species have two horns, and are generally similar in form and habits of life. The Tapir is the largest quadruped of South America ; it is of about the size of an ass, and inhabits marshes and low grounds. Its nose terminates in a short and movable trunk 5 50 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. which bears a distant resemblance to that of the elephant It subsists entirely upon vegetables, and is of a gentle and timid disposition. From the Wild Boar is derived the domestic Hog and all its varieties. The wild animal is extremely violent and fero- cious, and is armed with much larger and stronger tusks than the domestic. All the numerous varieties of form, size, and color, which are observed among hogs, are to be attributed to the circumstances to which they are exposed in their do- mestic state. Under this order are included the Solipeda or single-hoofed animals, in which the whole foot is enveloped in a single hoof. Of these, the most celebrated is the horse, one of the most beautiful and noble of quadrupeds. These animals are distinguished, beside the formation of their hoofs, by the pos- session of six incisive teeth in each jaw; and, in the male, of two small canine teeth in the upper, and sometimes in the under jaw, which are wanting in the female. Between these and the double teeth, or grinders, there is a vacant space, just corresponding to the angle of the lips, where the bit of the bridle is placed, by which man is enabled to guide and restrain him. Beside the horse, which is the most valuable and highly prized of all the domestic animals, this family em- braces the ass, the zebra, the dziggetai, a species between the horse and the ass in size, of a light bay color, inhabiting the central deserts of Asia, and the Couagga, an inhabitant of Africa, resembling in shape the horse, but in stripes of dark and white colors, the zebra. All these animals are found naturally in the wild state, ex- cept the horse. They are gregarious animals, live in immense herds, and subsist entirely upon vegetable food. Even the horse, in "Tartary and America, is found, free from the domin- ion of man, collected into troops or companies, each of which is led and defended by an aged male. But in such cases it has been proved that the wild animals are the descendants of individuals who have been set at liberty by their masters, or who have escaped from them. Different breeds of horses differ, as is well known, in their color, size, speed, shape, strength, and many other qualities, which render them more or less valuable. These differences depend very much upon the care which is taken in rearing the young. The most beautiful, if suffered to become wild, will begin soon to de- teriorate, and give birth to a progeny destitute of elegance and symmetry. The horse in the wild state has a large and CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER VIII. CETACEA. 51 clumsy head, rough and frizzled hair, and an awkward and disagreeable form ; so different indeed is he from the domestic animal, that we can hardly recognize him as being of the same species with the noble and graceful creature that we are accustomed to behold. -^-~ VIII. Cetacea. The whales are usually confounded with the class of fishes, which they resemble in many particulars of external appearance, as well as in the circumstance of re- siding always in the water. In point of structure, however, they clearly belong to the class Mammalia, since they breathe air by means of lungs, are warm-blooded, produce their young alive, and nourish them with their own milk. Instead of fore feet, they are furnished with fins or oars, which, how- ever, are supported by bones similar to those of the fore feet of quadrupeds. They have no hind feet, but their body ter- minates in a thick tail, which supports a fin or oar. This fin is horizontal, whilst that of fishes is vertical. A few of the Cetacea are herbivorous, and are frequently obliged to leave the water and crawl upon the shore in search of food. Such are the manati, usually called the sea-ox and sea-cow, and the dugong. They have upon their fins the rudiments of claws, which are of service to them in their mo- tions upon the land, and with which they are even able to carry their young. The mammae, from which 'they nurse their young, are upon the chest, like those of the human spe- cies; and they have, around the face, a growth of hair which resembles, in a slight degree, that of man. Hence the ap- pearance they present when the upper part of their bodies is elevated above the water, bears some resemblance to that of mankind, and they have, consequently, been called sea-apes. It is probable that these animals being seen by the credulous, the ignorant, the timid, or the superstitious, gave rise to the ancient fables of the tritons and sirens, and, in modern times, to the various unfounded stories of mermen and mermaids. The remainder of the cetaceous animals, such as the whale, porpoise, grampus, narwhale, and dolphin, are distinguished by a peculiar construction, which has acquired for them the common name of blowers, and which is rendered necessary by their mode of taking their prey. In taking into their very large mouths a great number of fishes, mollusca, medusae, &,c., at once, they would swallow at the same time large quantities of water, were there not some provision for getting rid of it. To effect this, the water is passed up through the roof of the mouth, into a cavity situated near the external ori- 52 CLASS I. MAMMALIA, ORDER IX. MARSUPIALIA. fice of the nostrils, from whence it is ejected, with consider- able force, through a small aperture, called the blowhole, on the upper part of the head. In some of the whales, as in the great Balaena, beside this arrangement, the mouth is fur- nished with rows of whalebone on each side, extended in the form of thin plates, and terminating at their edges in fibres or a sort of fringe, which serve the purpose of a sieve, or strainer, to retain the large shoals of little animals that are taken in with the water, whilst the water passes through and escapes. The Balaena mysticetus, or great Greenland Whale, is an enormous animal, which attains to a length varying from sixty to seventy or eighty feet, and is nearly of as many in cir- cumference. Its jaws are capable of being stretched twenty feet apart, and its plates of whalebone are sometimes twelve feet in length. It is covered, under the skin, by a layer of fat, which is often several feet thick, and yields, according to the different sizes of the animal, from twelve to twenty tons of oil. It used formerly to frequent the Atlantic coasts of Europe and America; but to such an extent has the pursuit of it been carried, that it has gradually been driven into the recesses of the northern seas. \ There are other whales equal in length to this, but less val- uable on account of their smaller circumference, their com- parative leanness, and the difficulty of taking them. The Spermaceti Whales are without the whalebone, and are remarkable for the disproportionate size of their heads. This size is owing to the existence of certain cartilaginous cavities upon their upper part, in which is contained the pe- culiar substance known by the name of spermaceti. These cavities are entirely distinct from that containing the brain, which is very small. They have little fat in other parts of their bodies ; and it is on account of the spermaceti only that they are a valuable object of fishery. ' The odorous substance called ambergris, appears to be a concretion formed in the intestines of these whales, particularly when they are the sub- jects of disease. IX. Marsupialia. The Marsupial animals have usually been distributed among those orders of the class Mammalia, to which they bear, in some particulars, the closest resem- blance. Thus the Kangaroo has been enumerated among the Rodentia, because it resembles them in its teeth, and the length and strength of its hind legs. The Opossum has been ranked among the Carnivora, and the Ornithorhynchus among ORDER IX. MARSUPIALIA. 53 the Edentata for a similar reason. But so peculiar and re- markable is the structure of these animals, and so singular their mode of nourishing their young, that it will be far more intelligible and interesting to the student of natural history, to have them placed together, and described as belonging to a single order. The most remarkable circumstance, with regard to the Marsupial animals, is the premature birth of their young, and the exceedingly unformed and imperfect state in which they are brought into the world. They are incapable of motion, and scarcely exhibit even the rudiments of limbs or other ex- ternal organs. Their mouth is simply a round orifice, with- out distinction of parts ; but by means of it, they attach them- selves to the nipples of the mother, and there remain immovably fixed, deriving their nourishment from them, and gradually improving in shape and increasing in size, until they are as completely formed as other animals are at the time of their birth. So small in proportion are the young when first born, that the Kangaroo, which, when full grown, is as large is a sheep, and weighs one hundred and fifty pounds, is at / 4 its birth no more than an inch in length, and weighs only twenty-one grains. Generally, the female is furnished with a duplicature of the skin of the abdomen, which forms a kind of bag, covering the nipples, in which it places its young, and preserves them du- ring the period of helplessness. Frequently, indeed, even af- ter they have acquired strength to leave this pouch, they re- treat into it upon the approach of danger. Sometimes, in place of the pouch, there is simply a fold of the skin. The pouch is supported by means of two bones attached to those of the pelvis, from which proceed muscles that open or con- tract its mouth, like the opening of a purse. These bones are found also in the male, and in those species which have not the complete pouch; and are always an indication that the animal belongs to this order. The Opossum is as large as a cat, and covered with a thick f'.ir of a dingy cast. It hunts after birds and their eggs, and is destructive to poultry. It is found in many parts of the United States. When pursued and overtaken, it feigns it- self dead, and will give no signs of life during the presence of its assailant, although tortured to a great degree. Its young, which are sometimes six or seven in number, are ex- ceedingly minute; and, although blind and without limbs, find their way, by a sort of instinct, to the nipples, and adhere 5* £>4 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORJ>EIl IX. MARSUPIALIA. to them till they have attained the size of a mouse, which ig not until the fiftieth day, when also they first open their eyes They continue to return into the pouch, until they reach the size of a rat. The Phalangers are found in the Moluccas and New Hol- land. Their tails are long, covered with scales, and prehen- sile. They live upon trees, and subsist upon insects and fruit. When any one approaches them, they suspend them- selves by the tail, until they fall, through mere fatigue, to the ground. The Phalanger volans, or Great Flying Opos- sum, is about the size of a common cat, and resembles, in many respects, the flying squirrel. Like that animal, it is provided with the power of extending the loose skin of its sides when it stretches out its legs, so as in some measure to buoy itself in the air, whilst leaping from one tree to another. It can leap in this way to the distance of a hundred yards. The Merian Opossum is remarkable for its method of car- rying its young. It conveys them on its back, where they fix themselves by twisting their tails closely about that of their parent, clinging with their claws to its fur. Th« Kangaroo is the largest animal of this order, and the largest quadruped which has been discovered in New Holland. It is sometimes six feet in height, and is distinguished by the great disproportion in length between its fore and hind legs ; the former being only one foot and a half long, but the latter three feet and a half. In consequence of this, they cannot walk upon all fours without difficulty, but leap with great power and to a prodigious distance, sometimes twenty feet, and to the height of nine feet. They sit upon their hind legs whilst at rest, seldom using the fore legs, except for support- ing themselves when stooping to drink, for conveying food to the mouth, and for digging in the earth. But although dis- proportionately long, as has just been observed, when full grown, the hind legs of the Kangaroo at birth are not so large or so strong as the fore legs, which are more necessary, in order to favor the motions of the little animal while in the pouch. The Ornithorhynchus has not the pouch, like the opossum and kangaroo, but has the marsupial bones, and is therefore to be enumerated under this order. It is a most singular and anomalous animal, and approaches, in some particulars, to a resemblance to birds. Its mouth is very much like the bill of the duck ; it has a bone resembling the fourchette ot wishing-bone of birds ; it has no nipples for nursing its young CLASS II. BIRDS. 55 and a doubt still exists if it be not oviparous. This is the belief of the inhabitants of New Holland, who assert that it Jays two eggs; and the dissection of the animal has led to the opinion that the eggs, if not laid, are hatched within the body of the parent, by its own heat, but just before the birth of the offspring. The male has, upon each of its hind feet, a spur, perforated by a small canal, through which, it is said, it can eject a poisonous fluid when it inflicts a wound. It is an aquatic animal, inhabiting the rivers and marshes of New Holland. Its feet are webbed, to adapt it for swimming. SECTION III. Class II. Birds. BIRDS being intended for flight, Nature has adapted the structure of their organs to this purpose. Their anterior extremities, being designed to support them in the air, serve none of those purposes to which they are applied in quad- rupeds ; and they therefore invariably stand and walk upon two feet only. The neck is long, and capable of a great variety and extent of motion ; and the mouth, being furnished with a hard, horny beak, is without teeth. The breast-bone is very large and strong, in order to support the powerful actions of the wings, and has in front a large projection, in shape like a keel, that serves for the attachment of the strong muscles which put the wings in motion. The wings are composed of nearly the same number and kind of bones as the anterior extremities of quadrupeds, and are covered witli long and wide feathers or quills, so arranged as to be capable of acting upon the air, raising the animal from the ground, and conveying it about from place to place. The tail is also furnished with feathers that may be stretched out in the form of a fan, and serve to balance and direct the flight. The feet are furnished generally with four claws, but sometimes with only three. The bones of the leg and thigh resemble very nearly those of quadrupeds. The heart of*birds is constructed, like that of the Mamma- lia, with four cavities, two auricles and two ventricles. They have, of course, a double circulation, one through the lungs, and the other through the body. Their lungs, however, are arranged differently. They are fixed against the back and sides of the body, and covered by a membrane, which, being 56 STRUCTURE OP BIRDS. perforated by many small openings, permits the air to enter into them, and likewise to pass into several cavities situated in the chest and belly. It even extends into the interior of the bones, and by thus pervading various parts of the body, not only exercises very extensively its peculiar influence on the blood, but also renders the whole body lighter and better adapted for flight. The organs of digestion also are somewhat varied. As birds cannot chew their food, a provision is made to supply this defect by means of the structure of their internal organs. The food is carried first into the crop, which appears to be merely an enlargement of the oasophagus or gullet, at the bottom of the neck, where it is softened by a liquor poured out from the internal surface of this cavity. It is then carried into a membranous sack, called the ventriculus succcnturiatus , where it is further macerated and soaked ; and from thence into the gizzard, which is composed of two very strong and firm muscles, united by radiated tendons, and lined on its inside by a rough cartilaginous membrane. In this organ the food is powerfully acted upon, and is triturated and ground up into a substance resembling that prepared by the teeth and stomach of the Mammalia. This structure, however, is not fully carried out in all birds. It exists in its most complete state in those which are gra- nivorous, or which live upon fruit, seed, &,c. ; but in the car- nivorous birds, or those which feed upon flesh or fish, the dilatation, constituting the crop, is very small or altogether wanting ; and the gizzard is a thin and weak organ, hardly to be distinguished from the second or membranous stomach. This is a difference corresponding to that which has been described as existing in the Mammalia ; among which those feeding upon vegetable food are provided with powerful and extensive organs of digestion, whilst in those living upon animal food they are comparatively weak, and limited in extent. The sight of birds is very perfect. They possess the power of seeing objects distinctly, when very remote. Birds of prey are particularly remarkable for the very great distance at which they perceive their prey, and the accuracy with which they direct their flight towards it. Besides* the upper and under eyelids, birds have a third, which is sem transparent, and serves the purpose of protecting the eye from the contact of external bodies, or from too powerful light, whilst, at the same time, it does not prevent them from distinguishing the objects around them. This membrane is situated at the inner ORDER I ACCIPITRES. 57 angle of the eye, and is drawn over the globe of it, like a cur- tain, at will. It is by means of this protection, that the eagle is enabled to look steadily at the sun. The senses of hearing and smelling are also possessed in considerable perfection by birds; the former more particularly by the nocturnal, and the latter by those feeding principally upon carrion, the scent of which they are thus able to trace 'o an immense distance. Their tongue being chiefly of bone